December, 2009
Dear Family and Friends,
As the first decade of the 21st century draws to a close, we find ourselves amazed that ten years ago everyone was worrying about the new Millennium, Dick and I were newly retired and we had only two grandkids, Teddy & Kayleigh, then ages 3 — years and 4 months old, respectively.
Fast forward from 1999 to 2009: we have been folks of leisure for ten years, Teddy is now a teenager, Kayleigh's ten, and we have four more grandkids!
Next year our "baby" — Michael — turns forty, and I join the ranks of folks on Medicare. My Mon turns 96 in February, and we're all noticing the relentless march of time.
There are no major changes this year. We spent our usual three winter months in Florida, took Teddy & Kayleigh to a timeshare for their April vacation, spent four+ months in Maine, then, aside from a ten-day trip to Spokane, we basically spent the fall catching up on dentist and doctor appointments, getting ready for the holidays, and preparing for our return to Florida.
We're beginning to have the discussion about "Why do we still have this house in Connecticut?" but, since we still haven't decided what we want to do when we grow up, we're still just in the talking stage.
Dick & Gee Sauvageau c/o Seacrest Condominiums - Unit 301 895 Santa Rosa Blvd. Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548 Phone: (850) 301-9600 ext.1301 email: geesauvageau@hotmail.com dicksauvageau@hotmail.com
Once again this summer we had all of our kids, our grandkids, my mom, my sister, and my sister's grandkids and daughter-in-law together at Sebago Lake for a couple of days! It was chaotic and fun. You'll see the family picture at the end of the letter. In case you're wondering about the display that's between our Spokane grands (Alden & Ethan) and the rest of the group, we used the opportunity to celebrate the ten birthdays and anniversaries that fall between July 23 and August 22! What you see in the picture is the train cake we made. Each person received a small loaf cake, which they then frosted and decorated to look like the car of a train. Dick set up the boards to serve as the train tracks and we displayed the cakes for picture-taking before everyone dug into Fischer individual cake. (No, nobody ate their whole cake in one sitting!)
Scott, Amy and the kids are fine, Scott's currently working as a computer programmer at ESPN in Bristol, CT. Amy still works with horses; teaching, boarding and training at her facility, Four Winds Farm, in Andover, CT. Teddy, as I mentioned before, is now thirteen. Hes in eighth grade, is bright and somewhat bored with school - much like his father was before him. Kayleigh's ten, tall, and in fifth grade. Both are good students, as well as excellent soccer and basketball players. Kayleigh takes painting classes twice a month, and both kids are signed up to take modeling lessons starting right around Christmas. Amy was approached at a fair by a woman who works for an agency to consider getting the kids into modeling. Teddy's excited about the possibility of earning some money. Kayleigh, who's much shyer than Teddy isn't sure she actually wants to model, but is interested in taking the classes to learn more about the fashion industry. We'll see what happens.
Tim and Cristy still live in Spokane, Washington, with their two boys, Alden age 4 and Ethan, 2. Tim is an LPN at a nursing home. He finished all the course work for the RN a year and a half ago, and recently got the authorization to retake the state exam by mid-February. Assuming he passes the test, he should receive a pay raise commensurate with the upgrade in status. Cristy stays home with the kids — definitely a full-time job!
Michael and Jennifer still spend part of their time on the road, but they've decided it's time to settle down. This summer they bought a house in Fryeburgh, Maine - which is only an hour's drive from Sebago! From mid-May to the beginning of October, we got to see Ayden (aged 6) and Alea (now 17 months) about every 2 weeks. Ayden is very bright, and seems to need to challenge almost all boundaries. Alea adores her big brother, and most of the time he's very good with her.
Both in Florida and in Maine I have fellow crafters to "play" with, which keeps me busy and out of trouble. Dick plays golf and cards in Florida, and spends much of his time in Maine reading on the beach.
This fall we went back to square dancing after nearly a nine-year hiatus. It's still a lot of fun and great exercise. Sadly, there are many fewer square dance clubs around than there used to be, so we probably won't be dancing as much as we once did, but we'll try to get out once in a while.
Warm wishes for a holiday filled with peace and joy and a safe, healthy new year,
Dick & Gee